Many of the fraudulent applications share common characteristics which can alert landlords to take further investigation. These characteristics or traits may signal a pattern of irregularities that indicate the possibility of fraud but not necessarily as proof of fraud. It is very hard to prove fraud in the courts with only traits of fraud. The following are characteristics of fraudulent behavior which have been used on landlords in the past and are not intended to be proof of fraud. They should simply be viewed as warning signs and a reminder to look carefully at your applications."The Social Security number is often omitted or copied"Name -Unusual name arrangement such as two first names used as given and surnames -Unusual sounding names which are not recognizable and impossible to pronounce coupled with common names. -Names of known personalities such as Magic Johnson, Tiger Woods or Brett Farvre.For landlords, application fraud is false and deceptive statement of fact intended for landlords to rely upon in order to give up their legal right to their property in return for rent. Landlords should remember that when a potential renter applies to rent a unit, the landlord is in essence granting credit to the renter. Renter scams are different and change frequently. Landlords who fall victim to application fraud lose thousand of dollars in lost rent and damages as well experience great inconvenience and anxiety.Many of the fraudulent applications share common characteristics that can alert landlords to take further investigation. The characteristics or traits may signal a pattern of irregularities that indicate the possibility of fraud but should not be viewed as proof of fraud. It is very hard to prove fraud, in the courts, with only traits of fraud. The following are characteristics of fraudulent behavior that have been used on landlords in the past and are not intended to be proof of fraud. They should simply be viewed as wisdom from Landlord2Landlord and a reminder to look carefully at your applications.Employment -The job title is misspelled. -The job title is unusual. For example: Lion Tamer. -The job title does not fit the nature of the employment. -The salary appears to be out of the range for the kind of work. For example: few roofers earn over 50K a year. -Salary includes cents or other symbols. -Years employed does not correlate with the age of the applicant. -When following up with the employer, the employer answers his own phone or has an answering machine with out identifying the company. -Net/gross income is omitted or copied. -Net and gross income is the same or gross income is more than net income. -Additional or supplemental income is disproportionate the net income.The Social Security number is omitted or copiedBank Accounts -Account numbers are omitted -Reference numbers are abbreviated or have strange symbols. -Recently opened accounts -Credit references are in the same sequence as on the credit report. -Payment accounts are exactly the same. -Credit references are from unknown companies or closed accounts. -References do not know the applicant. -There is significantly more money in checking versus savings accounts.Other Sections of the Application -Misspellings in the application -Applicant used P.O.boxes for references or addresses -Additional residents have different last names -The first four digits of the credit card do not coincide with the issuing bank's tax I.D. number. -Application for a second credit card for the same band. -The phone number and area code do not coincide with the address -The nearest relative is often a professional like a doctor in an attempt to build credibility."Landlords must treat their business as if it had a bull's-eye for every scammer looking for victim." explains Ken Lemal, President of Landlord2landlord.com. "It is part of our agents' job to advise landlords that when doing a thorough screening of their prospective tenant, the first step is to carefully scrutinize the actual application before obtaining their credit and criminal reports.""Once the application has been inspected, never forget to follow up and confirm that the information is correct by making phone calls to previous landlords and employers as well as comparing the application to their credit and criminal history. By taking these simple precautions, landlords can cave themselves many headaches and even more money. Careful tenant screening is the beginning of realizing, 'Landlord Profits'."A careful examination of the rental application along with a complete screening including credit, criminal and eviction reports gives the property manager the confidence that their rental decision was sound. Remember, better screening brings better tenancy which translates into greater profits. Newsletter